Retractable steering knob



Dec. 18, 1951 R. P. wooDRurl-F 2,579,165

RETRACTABLE STEERINGl KNOB Filed April 7, 1951 I INVENTOR. 39 Roy P. Wow/ruff BY Mal mwa@ Afomeys Patented Dec. 18, Q

UNITED. i STATES Y A25579465 1 it'lnjrnrn STEERING KNOB vRoyePaulWoodrurVafllejq;Gaif. Animation Amelia wml-esaltati@ This.,'inventonrelates toa newY and ,improved retractable steeringknob for use in. association with a vehicle steeringvwheel.

',:The .particular embodiment of .the rlventien whioht'is illustrated in the :drawings raridwhich Will .be describedvhereinafter in greater loletail cQrnpriSe-sy generally .1in Combination with el steering Wheel having a hub and an `annuiar rim iet steerinetlsnob eonnetted hinsedlygedeeentthe `rim E0f the nwheel lfor mOi/ement @from an ,uptight Knositiall Substantially perpendicular to `.theplaneof the Wheel toward the hub of the tv h'eelv andqtoH 'a retractedposition substantially parallel to thev planeet/said wheel. A snlqporing member connected Arigidly to vthe `hulolis provided, anda Aioioflable .toggle `llinlilmehanism contesting the supportate member and .steering knablis adapted .to permit folding movement v.of the knb from retracted to 4upright position, and vice Versa. .A spring associated with they toggle is aiso preferably provided to urge 'the knobv to upright position when the latter has beeri moved out ef .its ,-fullyretracted pesitien- 'toggle mechanism '.isarraneed'in sush manneiithet the knob .is .normally locked `,upreh-t Position against :forces applied 'Lto `thelnlt` inthe ytr e. ti91f1 toward itsjetractejd position. Moreoverg thefarrangement is 'auch that the .Steer'rlgikneb automaticallylecksn f trllyretraeted,peeitionageinst forces exerted :by ittie eterementitned :Spring-4 /LA principal .obieet .efthe',ifesenttnveniien,

therefore, isjjto `provide `a retractable i steering .Wheel'ignob orjtheljike possessing 'the characteristics'hereinabove i'brieiiy mentiened, and Which may-be easily and rapidly moved -=i rom retracted to uprightjpositionfand vice versa.

AAnother' 'object -o-f ithe Vinvention is -to provide a retractablehinged steering knob unit -Wherein novel Ymeans are provided tonrelieve the hinge supporting the knob from torsional andgshear forces imparted ltosaid knob through steering 4 manipulation -of said-knob.

Other objects'of5 thefpresentinvention-Will--become apparentv upon reading the following speci.-

eatien-a'ri'dfreferring tothe accompanyingdraw- 4 (Cirri-25,527?

f I l i if@ moo .niet inalterate-lastet *Y :si een -f UQ H f it .borsette Itese member, es ,of recessed .Cep-1114221. :hei/ire .e .eeetfetenettu e Lblt; the yehicle. n l'rhe teeele meetanietaaheteteore designated toggle link mechanism and steering knob when 'r these latter elements are moved to retracted position.

The arrangement of the toggle mechanism is such that when steering knob 24 is raised to upright position as shown in Fig. 3), knee conl nection or joint 36 of the toggle moves upwardly to a point above plane Rf-L intersecting pivotal axes 314 and 38. A suitable coil spring 4|, mounted on pin 38, and having a projecting end 42 engageable with the underside of arm 34, is adapted to normally urge arm 34 and knee joint 36 upwardly above plane R-L. A pair of stop or abutment members, indicated at 43 and 44, provided on the undersurfaces of arms 33 and 34, respectively, abut one another when the knee joint has been raised to itsY position illustrated in Fig. 3 and serve to limit the extent of permissible movement of the knee joint above plane R-L.

In view of the fact that movement of knob 24 to upright position causes knee joint 36 to move off center, i e., above plane R'-L, said knob will automatically lock and be maintained in that position against forces appliedto said knob in the direction of its retracted position. Thus, manual manipulation of the knob during steering operations will not displace it from upright position or cause it to move toward its retracted position.

The toggle and knob mechanism are also arranged and constructed in novel fashion so that, when the knob is moved to fully retracted position, the toggle link elements will cact to lock and maintainthe knob in said position. It will be recalled that spring 4| exerts a continuous pressure against the underside of arm 34 normally tending to raise said arm and knee joint 36 above plane R-L, and consequently, to'move the knob toward upright position. The relative arrange# ment betweentoggle connections 36, 31 and 38 and hinge pivot Y2| is such that when the knob is moved to -fully retracted position, pivot 31 moves below plane RL intersecting knee joint 36 and hinge pin 2|. i force applied to the underside of arm 34 by spring 4| will actually tend to maintain the knob temporarily locked in fully retracted position. It is only when the knob has been moved out of fully retracted position far enough to cause hinge pivot 2| to move above plane RL' that the spring force of spring 4| will act to move arm 34 upwardly, as aforesaid. Y

In operation, knob 24 may be rapidly moved from retracted position to upright position by manually grasping and lifting upwardly on said knob. Such movement simultaneously and automatically will cause toggle elements to move to their respective positions shown in Fig. 3. The

knob may be rapidly retracted merely by manually depressing arm 33, thus'causing the toggle mechanism to fold at its knee joint and the knob to swing downwardly about its hinge axis 2|.

It is to be noted that the link arms 33 and 34 of the toggle mechanism are shaped and pro- It is thus seen that the is in retracted position. It has been found that it is extremely convenient for an operator in righting the knob to its erect position to engage the underside of the knob with only his thumb, for example, and rapidly iiick it upwardly to upright position.

In order to relieve hinge 2| from torsional and shear forces which would otherwise be transmittedthereto in using the knob as a steeringv grip, a tongue and groove connection between the knob and its supporting bracket is preferably provided. More particularly Fig. 4 shows how the inner face of bracket 22 may be provided with a plurality of spaced lugs or teeth 41 which are mutually engageable With complementary lugs or teeth 48 provided on the outer face of base member I9.

The latter described tongue and groove connection between base member I9 and the bracket 22 transmits torsional and shear forces applied to the steering knob during steering operations directly to the steering wheel assembly, thereby taking the strain olf of hinge 2 Although the present invention has been described in some detail .by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of under--y standing, it is understood that certain changes and modications may be made within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a steering wheel having an annular rim and a center hub; a steering knob, a hinge supporting said knob adjacent said rim for movement from an upright position substantially perpendicular to the plane of said wheel toward the hub of said wheel to a retracted position substantially parallel to the plane of said wheel, a, supporting member rigidly connected `to said hub, a toggle mechanism connecting said supporting member and said knob arranged and constructed for locking said knob in upright position against forces applied to said knob in a direction toward its retracted position.

2. A construction according to claim 1 and wherein there are provided mutually engageable elements. associated with said knob and said wheel rim respectively for transmitting torsional and shear A,forces imparted to said knob during steering manipulation thereof directly to said rim, said mutually engageable means being dis- .posed between said knob and said hinge.

3. In combination with a steering wheel having an annular rim and a center hub; a steering knob, a hinge supporting said knob adjacent said rim for movement from an upright position substantially perpendicular to the plane of said wheel toward the hub of said wheel to a retracted `position substantially parallel to the plane of said wheel, a supporting member rigidly connected to said hub, a toggle comprising rst and second arms, a rst pivotal connection connecting together said first and second arms forming a knee joint, a second pivotal connection connecting said nrst arm adjacent its outer end to said knob, a third pivotal connection connecting -said second arm adjacent its outer end to said supporting me-mber, said knee joint of said toggle arranged to move from below to above a plane intersecting said second and third pivotal axes when said knob is moved from retracted to upright position for locking said knob in upright position against forces applied to said knob toward its retracted position.

4. A construction according to claim 2 and wherein a spring means associated with said toggle is provided to normally spring bias said knee joint upwardly.

5. A construction according to claim 2 and wherein said knob has a generally rounded configuration, and wherein said toggle arms are shaped and proportioned to receive in nested relationship portions of said knob when the latter occupies its ,retracted position.

6. A construction according to claim 2 and wherein spring means associated with said toggle is provided for normally urging said knee joint upwardly, and wherein the axis of said hinge is arranged and located relatively to the axis of said first, second and third pivotal connections for movement to a point below a plane intersecting said first and second pivotal axes when said knob occupies its fully retracted position, whereby said knob is locked in fully retracted position against forces applied to said toggle by said spring means.

'7. A construction according to claim 3 and wherein there are provided mutually engageable elements associated with said knob and said wheel rim, respectively, for transmitting torsional and sheer forces imparted to-said knob during steering manipulation thereof directly to said rim, said mutually engageable means being disposed between said knob and said hinge.

8. In combination with a steering wheel having an annular rim and a center hub; a steering knob, a hinge supporting said knob adjacent said rim for movement from an upright position substantially perpendicular to the plane of said wheel toward the hub of said wheel to a retracted position substantially parallel to the plane of said wheel, a sup-porting member rigidly connected to said hub, a toggle comprising first and second arms, a first pivotal connection connecting together said rst and second arms forming a knee joint, a second pivotal connection connecting said rst arm adjacent its outer end to said knob, a third pivotal connection connecting said second arm adjacent its outer end to said supporting member, said knee joint of said toggle arranged to move from below to above a plane intersecting said second and third pivotal axes when said knob is Imoved from retracted to upright position for locking said knob in upright position against forces applied to said knob toward its retracted position, spring means associated with said toggle normally urging said knee joint upwardly, the axis of said second pivotal axis arranged and located relatively to the axes of said hinge and said first and third pivotal connections for movement to a point below a plane intersecting said hinge and first pivotal axes when said knob occupies its fully retracted position, whereby said knob is locked in fully retracted position against forces applied to said toggle by said spring means.

9. A construction according to claim 8 and wherein said spring means comprises a spring mounted adjacent said third pivotal connection engageable with the underside of said second arm for normally exerting an upward force against the underside of said arm.

10. A construction according to claim 8 and wherein said knob is of generally rounded conguration, and wherein said first and second toggle arms are shaped and proportioned to receive in substantially nested relationship portions of said knob when the latter occupies its retracted position.

11. A construction 4according to claim 8 and wherein there are provided mutually engageable elements associated with said knob and said wheel rim, respectively, for -transmitting torsional and shear forces imparted to said knob during steering manipulation thereof directly to said rim, said mutually engageable means being disposed between said knob and said hinge.

12. In combination with a steering wheel having an annular rim and a center hub; a steering knob, a hinge supporting said knob adjacent said rim for movement from an upright position substantially perpendicular to the plane of said wheel toward the hub of said wheel to a retracted position substantially parallel to the plane of said wheel, and mutually engageable elements associated with said knob and said wheel rim, respectively, for transmitting torsional and shear forces imparted to said knob during steering manipulation thereof directly to said rim, said mutually engageable means being disposed between said knob and said hinge. l

13. In combination with a steering wheel having an annular rim and a center hub; a steering knob mechanism, a hinge supporting said knob mechanism adjacent said rim for movement from an upright position substantially perpendicular to the plane of said wheel toward the hub of said wheel to a retracted position substantially parallel to the plane of said wheel, said steering knob mechanism comprising a base member supporting rotatably a steering knob, a supporting bracket carrying said hinge and engaging said rim, and mutually engageable members provided on said base member and said bracket, respectively, for transmitting torsional and shear forces imparted to said knob during steering manipulation thereof to the rim of said wheel via said base member, said mutually engageable members and said bracket.

ROY PAUL WOODRUFF.

No references cited. 

